Answers to This Months Question

Zalco vs Hulk :

D&D and other roleplaying games can help you develop a stronger 
personality, makes you less shy and make you more sure of yourself. 
By playing different characters with different personalities you put 
you own personality in perspective .. and the great thing is that you 
do this while you use you imagination, gain new friends and have lots 
of fun.

Good luck with the report
-Zalco vs Hulk (alias Johannes from Copenhangen, Denmark)

SJ Black20 :

Well Dungeons and Dragons offers an 
escape from reality to a land of fantasy and high magic, and like all 
forms of entertainment, it is essentially about fun. 

Is it fun to 
make up your own worlds and set up campaigns there? Is it fun to play 
the role of the mischevious gnome rogue, the balance conscious gnome 
druid, the conceited half-elf bard, the hot headed half-orc 
barbarian, etc.? Well each individual person can only answer these 
questions themselves, but for me it is fun to create a new world from 
scratch and immerse my players into it.  It is also just as fun to 
play the role of a character created and crafted by me with their own 
background, history, and personality and set them into a game world 
crafted by another person. 

Why D&D specifically though? Well the game 
features a lot of game balance and quick fast paced battles. You know 
you are having fun role-playing when the "dangers" of D&D aren't 
vicious players, they are the Hill Giants with boulders, the Black 
Dragons trying to eat you and you trying to sneak attack their throat 
or steal their dragon fangs (You know while your in there after 
all?), the Ettins and Ogres clubbing you senseless, the Hound Archons 
who really don't want you stealing that holy artifact, etc.        

Ben:

Hey Aradan,

This question recently came up in my school. I have played D&D for several years and felt that it would be really cool if there was an official D&D club in the school. I know, who needs an official club, but I thought it would be something cool to do. Anyways, because I knew that I would have to present the idea to the principal of the school I knew that I would need to come up with several good reasons on why people should play. I could easily tell the principle that D&D was in no way related to satanic worshiping, or that it is in any way dangerous to health. I could explain that role-playing did not take place with real swords/guns/etc. but with dice, and real people were not hurt. However, I did not think that this would be enough. So I started to look at what I think Dungeons and Dragons has done for me. The first thing I thought of was the obvious, it has provided me with hours of fun, but in all reality I think there is alot more.

Take critical thinking skills for example. It takes alot of thought for the Dungeon Master to come up with a puzzle, and it takes alot of time and thought for the players to come up with the solution. I also think that Dungeons and Dragons helps public speaking skills, especially in an enviroment where you don't know everyone at the table. Then there is always the idea that Dungeons and Dragons provides a place for healthy friendships and relationships. Also, if you really want to stretch, it requires math skills (I mean adding up all the numbers on the dice- what's with that?!) as well as reading and writing in order to come up with a character that has a good background. Yes, alot of these ideas are a stretch of the imagination, but in essence they are all there.

 

SCA Bard :

Hi Aradan,

Back when I was in high school and applying to colleges, I had to
write an essay for MIT on the subject of "My most significant
intellectual experience." 'What the heck sort of "intellectual
experiences" do you get in high school?' I wondered. After some
pondering, and entirely against the advice of the creative writing
instructor who looked over the essay, I wrote about playing
role-playing games.

Role-playing exercises many of the mental skills that are being
recognized as necessary in the world today. These are the ones I
dimly recall mentioning in the essay:

Visualization: To interact effectively in the game world, you have to
be able to visualize the scene as described by the Game Master and the
other players.

Analytical thinking: Whether you are solving a puzzle or searching a
room, systematic analysis of the scene you've visualized is often the
key to getting through an RPG scenario.

Creative problem solving: Since the game is so free-form, it is often
advantageous to think "outside the box" and bring unorthodox elements
to bear on problems. These may often be elements in the scene, which
you'd have had to visualize correctly to use.

Cooperation/teamwork: In the games I played in, we focused more on
working together as a team (rather than stabbing each other in the
back, which does happen in some games). Sometimes, a tactically sound
plan would have to be abandoned because one of the team members had
(moral or other) objections to it. We learned to get past these
impasses with compromise and more creative alternatives.

Imagination: The game encourages creativity in more than just
problem-solving. GMs especially need to invent and imagine plot
scenarios and NPCs, but players envision their own characters and
backgrounds.

I think that was it. Depending on how you play, RPGs can also be a
springboard for learning math skills, real world history and
economics, and military history. It often spawns an interest in
fantasy literature, encouraging the development of reading skills. It
can also be an opportunity for otherwise shy people to socially
interact with others and develop their social skills. Not every gamer
takes advantage of these opportunities, but somewhere between "some"
and "many" do, I'd say.

If you've found this useful, please cite it appropriately. If you
have a style handbook, it should have guidelines for personal
communications. I don't know if they've got them for anonymous
Internet posters yet, but I'd think that something like:

"Teleri," online BBS post, (URL goes here), (date goes here).

Unless you get this in an email from Thrandorian, in which case it'll
be some weird nested personal comm thing:

"Teleri," personal communication, in "Thrandorian," personal
communication, (date).

Good luck with your project,
- Teleri

PS - For what it's worth, I did get in to MIT.

Steve Dettlaff:

I think one of the most obvious pro's is the educational value for
younger minds. I've been playing for years and have witnessed many
fellow players start their kids out on the game. It encourages creative
thinking and problem solving. It helps with basic math skills. And it
inspires the imagination. As with anything, you get out what you put
into it.

Josh:

I think I will echo some of my fellow list members' opinions in this
but I will share all of my thoughts none the less.

A long time ago there were four basic subjects studied in schools in
America they were reading, writing, history and arithmetic. I do not
know of any single other enjoyable past time that so encompasses
these four subjects than D&D.

D&D is an intellectual pursuit wherein people have to use imagination
and creativity. It is a social outlet where people get together on a
regular basis and form strong bonds between them forging lasting
friendships. There is a sense of camaraderie amongst D&D players that
is boundless; I have been in strange cities and stranger towns where
I have always been able to find friends because of Role-playing.

D&D players are problem solvers often employing grand creativity to
find solutions to problems. We are planners and plotters employing
forethought and wisdom to both short term and long term goals. We are
prepared for anything we always expect opposition and ensure that we
have the means to counteract that opposition.

Compared to the people I know who do not play I am one of the most
observant people I know. We are the detectives of the mundane world.
In the game I must search for clues and be wary of traps…and realize
that if something appears too good to be true it probably is.

The game makes you think, watch, listen and cooperate. There are more
gamers in the military than people care to know and it is just these
mental exercises that many groups use to enhance its members. What
are war-games but role-playing and strategy games. When the mind
paces itself through a situation enough times it becomes familiar
with it and ready to act should it arise, it is like a Kata for the
brain.

It is a sign of intelligence and creativity to be able to play a game
that resides solely in ones imagination. I would wager great sums on
IQ and SAT scores of D&D players versus those of nearly any other
extracurricular school activity bring it on baseball! Both Lucas and
Spielberg use D&D to select child actors for films.

Some people will say that it is an escape from the real world and
that is true. So are movies and music and literature. Our detractors
will say it causes obsession and violence and suicide. These are the
scared ravings of the ignorant. Do people become obsessed yes, they
are the obsessive, violence from the violent and suicide from the
suicidal. Any thing can become the outlet for what already exists.
There have been stories of high-school kids killing themselves
because of D&D and there are stories of kids killing themselves
because they did not make varsity baseball…is out national pastime
killing our youth? These people have already chosen their path…do not
blame the road.

Was that too much? Probably but I have heard myself explain this to a
thousand people who do not understand, most finally get it but some
never will. Fortunately I have probably taught a thousand people to
play the game and watched as people who had never done anything like
it, love it and find the same wonder in it that I did when I started
in 1984.

 
Cyric : 

D&D, and all RPGs in general, are an engrossing, enjoyable, and
enthralling way to express one's self and one's creativeness in a
different setting, thereby using the imagination, an integral part
of role-playing, to its fullest degree. Being a bit of an artist
(I'm a writer, artist, musician, and poet) I find role-playing (not
roll-playing) a manner to expand my inventiveness and mental
agility, honing the skills I possess and adding new ones to the mix.
Finally, and I'm sure a lot of gamers think this way, gaming is a
means of escape from the wiles and craziness of reality; a freedom
to do what you please (although, if you're intelligent at all, you
don't cause your character to do anything that would jeopardize the
other party members or cause something to happen to the group's
detriment) in a totally fantastic world, in the shoes of someone
opposing (maybe that's not the best word) your true nature.

Now, GMing a game is as important a subject as playing as well.

Most players don't realize, understand, or appreciate the art of
GMing, in that, while you are controlling a game to the degree of
keeping a balance, you are also role-playing in the fullest possible
manner. While a player is controlling one or two characters and
personifying this character in a way that interacts with the word
around them, you, as the GM, are that world around them. They play a
character; you play the entire world, galaxy, inner and outer
dimensions, and every individual person, place, and thing within all
of those boundaries.

Sunderedepoch :

Besides being an interactive form of entertainment, similar to video
games, Role-playing games provide limitless options. Those options
help to foster critical thinking skills and the constant management
of numbers and calculations reinforces math skills.

A large part of Role-playing is interaction with the other players in
a make-believe setting. For the all players, it builds oral
communication skills as well as insights as to how their actions and
attitudes affect others. They are able to see the bennefits of being
good and noble and the folleys of evil and deceit, all in a safe
fictional environment.

Some players may find ways of building their self-esteme as their
creative experiments open new possibilities, particularly in
literature. Role-playing games promote reading and writing skills as
they are often built on fictional worlds, such as JRR Tolkien's Lord
of the Rings. And many game groups require detailed backgrounds and
character histories, which requires writing fictional histories.
Additionally, some players will want to know how things work. RPGs
set in historical times foster an element of research that often
crosses into learning a craft, such as metal working, carpentry, and
the arts.

In addition, players' self-esteme may be further enhanced if they
choose the way of the "leader" of the group or the Game Master. In
this roll, they must process masses of information, develop
organization skills, oral and written communicaiton skills, and make
snap judgements that may decide the fate of a dearly loved character.
In addition, they will often need to deal with criticism for poor
decisions or stand firm on unpopular ones.

Array 50:

The American Insatute of phycology backed a 10 years study of RPG
players between the ages of 15 and 25, and compared them to the
national average of the same age rates.
i cant remimber the exact results, but it was published in the
American Jornal of Psyhcology sometime in the late 80's I think, you
should be able to find it with a bit of work.
But the resuts were something near these.
The national average
Crime: 84%
Drug use: 75%
Suside: 35%
Falling grades in school: 67%

RPG players of the same age range:
Crime: 15%
Drug use: 9%
Suside: 4%
falling grades in school: 11%

Mind you, this is just from memory, so dont be suprized if the numbers
are off.. But I do remimber that they where MUCH better for the RPG's
than for the national average. i used this argument agenst my mopther
when she first objected agesnt my playing.. she didnt object again for
a long time.

Zayas, Luis H. and Lewis, Bradford H.; ``Fantasy Role-Playing for
Mutual Aid in Children's Groups: A Case Illustration''; Social Work
with Groups, vol. 9(1), Spring 1986, p. 53-66.
An account in which the game was used for a few months to help
socially maladapted boys aged 8-9 with social problems develop skills
in mutual cooperation.

Simón, Armando. ``Emotional Stability Pertaining to the Game of
Dungeons & Dragons.'' Psychology in the Schools, October 1987, p.
329-332.
This is the first and the most rigorous study of several hundred
persons from all backgrounds and of varied ages. He used the Cattall
16 PF test to measure a number of personality traits. The test was
weighted for number of years played. No significant deviation from the
control personalities was found, with the slight exception of an
increase in factor Q1 ("Experimenting; liberal, freethinking").

Hall, Alex (1988, April 27). ``Investigation into the value of FRPGs
as a strategy in developing children's creative writing.'' Unpublished
honours paper at University of Nottingham.
Study demonstrated improvement in both high and low level students in
writing ability, vocabulary, structural organization and incidentally
increased socialization on the part of some shy students.

DeRenard, Lisa and Manik Kline, Linda. ``Alienation and the Game
Dungeons & Dragons.'' Psychological Reports, 1990, 66, pp. 1219-1222.
Gamers analyzed in terms of feelings of powerlessness, worthlessness,
and isolation. No significant deviation was found from a non-gaming
sample, except in the area of "cultural estrangement", which is
essentially awareness of and interest in popular entertainment. Not
surprisingly, given the close and inward-looking nature of gaming
groups, the gamers were less interested in the mass media. The
researchers also found a slightly higher sense of "meaninglessness"
reported by non-gamers, and speculate that the sense of belonging
shared by gamers is the explanation.

Leeds, Stuart. "Personality, Belief in the Paranormal, and Involvement
with Satanic Practices Among Young Adult Males: Dabblers Versus
Gamers" Cultic Studies Journal, Vol. 12, No. 2, 1995, pp. 148-165.
This was a study of 217 adult male subjects: a control group of 125
non-involved, 66 fantasy role-playing gamers, and 26 satanic dabblers.
It measured psychoticism, extraversion, and neuroticism using the
Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ-R); beliefs in paranormal
phenomena using the Belief in the Paranormal Scale (BPS); and for
involvement in gaming and satanic practices using the Satanic and
Fantasy Envelopment (SAFE) survey. It found major personality
differences between the gamers and the satanic dabblers. It concludes:
"The evidence is not consistent with the hypothesis that fantasy
role-playing games are precursors to satanic practices." However, the
gamers did have higher occult interest ratings than the control group
(6% of the control group had "a fair amount of occult related objects"
vs 23% of the gamers).

Rosenthal, Gary T., Barlow Soper, Earl J. Folse, and Gary J. Whipple.
"Role-Play Gamers and National Guardsmen Compared." Psychological
Reports 82 (1998): 169-170.
The abstract reports: "Scores of 54 fantasy role-game players and 64
National Guardsman were compared on a neuroticism scale and
demographic variables. While the Role-gamers reported daydreaming and
sleeping more than the Guardsmen, the popular stereotype that game
players are withdrawn, emotionally immature adolescents was not
confirmed. The typical game player was male with as many close friends
as the guardsmen. Mean neuroticism scores did not appear to differ
between the two groups and were not high enough to be considered
clinically significant."

Hope this helps yoru project.
Array

 

Thrandorian:

Once again, I see no need for me to add anything. There were also 8 more responses. I chose to publish only the first 9 as this is as much as anybody can read or needs to know about the benefits of AD&D. All responses were sent to Aradan however.

I did post the following comment:

All I can say is WOW!

What a great and well detailed response! Very nice everyone. I have always given him crap so I better point out that among a group of excellent responses, Array really blew me away. Wonderful reference list! I must take it on faith that the pages & whatnot are accurate but assuming so, I am wow'ed & appreciative.

Thanks to all. I will wait until 8 pm est. for any last minute additions then send Aradan the responses.

You ever notice how younger players are always "Mezgocrush the World-Mangler", "Aradan the Almighty" but never just "Aradan"? Or Thorador or Phil or Chuck.... My Magic user was Phil. I'd warrant It hurts a little bit worse when a "Phil" kicks yer' arse rather than anyone named the "Almighty" ... And it sucks in your bragging rights in hell...... "How'd you get here ?"... "A gut named Phil---ahh I mean, Aradan the Mighty killed me... yeah, that's the ticket... Giant sword about... yea-big!

Thx again

T